Colds are the pits

Especially when having one means you can't see your babies! So, since I can't see my babies, I thought I'd post a few pictures of them:

Maya


Lilly


I swear one day I will get a picture of Lilly with her eyes open!

They're both doing really well. Still nursing two times a day. They were both getting up to close to 75% of their feedings, then yesterday we had a bad day and they were back down to like 30%. And now I have a cold, so I can't go in to see them. Sad day!

But that's the way it is. Two steps forward, one step back...and colds don't help!!! I sure love my little girls, and hope I get better in record time so I can go and visit them again.

She used to be my youngest...

So this little girl just has her 18 month doctor's appointment.

At 18 months Addison knew about a million words...okay, maybe not a million but I remember the doctor asking me if she knew at least 8 words and laughing because she knew so many more.

At the time of the doctor's appointment Hannah new about 8 words, but not a lot more than that. I wasn't worried about it but Bart wanted me to ask the doctor about it so I did. She too wasn't worried, but I think Hannah knew what we were talking about and thought, "Oh yeah mom, you're worried that I don't talk much, well how about this..." And now she is learning like five words a day!!! Okay, that may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but she is learning a ton! Way to go little girl!

Life in General

So lately I feel like my life consists of going to the hospital and pumping. Seriously. I have to pump every 2 to 3 hours (start to start, and I pump for about half an hour, so it's more like 1.5 to 2.5 hours). Between hospital, pumping, and not being able to lift anything over 15 lbs, I SWEAR I can't do anything!

Today Bart had to stay after school for a little while, so I let the girls do something I wouldn't normally let them do...well, really I let them do something I wouldn't normally let Hannah do. But I had to keep them occupied so that I wouldn't need to pick up Hannah.



It worked out fairly well, although our chairs are really not playdough friendly. Sigh, oh well, I'm so tired I don't really care. And at least they had a little fun. :)



My other girls are doing really well.



We've introduced breastfeeding 2 times a day. They're doing well with it, but they have to get up to 75% of their feeding from me instead of the feeding tube before we can increase frequency which is what we want to do to get them to come home. The doctor says this nursing 2 times a day is the longest part. I'm not going to lie, I will be very happy when this hospital phase of our lives is over. They also both have their PICC lines (basically IVs) out now, and are up to full feedings.

Hannah is so cute. She knows there are pictures of the babies on the computer and our phones, so whenever she sees us on the computer or phone, she points to whatever it is we're using and says, "Babies." So we'll pull up a picture of the babies to show her. And when she sees it, she invariably tilts her head to the right and says, "Awwww." It's SOOOOOOOOOOOO cute! As soon as my brother returns our video camera, I'm getting it on film.

Well...I have an innie again

So to make a VERY long story short, Friday I had a partial placental abruption and was hemorrhaging quite badly. We rushed to the hospital and our twins were born via emergency C-section at 32 weeks (8 weeks early).

Maya was born at 9:37 and weighed 3 lbs 14 oz and is 17 inches long


Lilly was born at 9:39 and weighed 4 lbs 5 oz and is 16 inches long


They're both doing really well. Lilly is completely off any type of breathing assistance. She's just breathing air.



Maya was off breathing assistance, but was breathing kind of quickly and labored, so they decided to put her back on the CPAP machine for a while (The CPAP Machine is the machine in the top pictures). Which is basically just a tube below her nose that blows air into it. That extra air pressure helps them breathe a little. It looks a lot scarier than it is...just ask Addison. We tried to prep her by explaining about the tubes and how they help the babies. But it backfired. Now she's terrified of tubes. She doesn't want to see babies with any tubes at all.



We had a window of opportunity yesterday Where they had taken Lilly off the CPAP machine and hadn't put her feeding tube back in yet, so we rushed Addison in to see her. Maya was just in the station next to her, but she still had the CPAP on, so Addison was terrified to even look over there. So she's met Lilly (which, by the way she decided the name on long ago...I'll share that story later) but hasn't met Maya yet.



Both of their Bilirubin levels were up, so they're under the Jaundice lights today. But they both really are doing well.

When we got to the Hospital Friday night and heard their heartbeats, it was a HUGE relief. It's good to know that everything's going well and they're being well taken care of by the NICU staff.



I'm also doing well. I lost a lot of blood, but was able to avoid a transfusion. The way the anestesiologist put it, "You won't be running a marathon tomorrow." Yeah, to say the least. I was soooo tired ALL day Saturday. I literally felt like I couldn't keep my eyes open. My blood pressure was very low, so whenever I sat up I got dizzy and nauseous and would throw up...not fun with a c-section. But I'm doing much better. Vaginal deliveries have a WAY better recovery, but I'm doing well.

Confession

So I have secretly wanted an outie belly button for as long as I can remember. I can't remember when it started,or how, but I have always wanted one. I have had this image in my mind of a cute little belly button poking out, and wanted it.

With my first two pregnancies, I quietly hoped my belly button would eventually pop out as my stomach grew. Both times I got excited as my belly button got flat, but it never actually popped out.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I now have an outie...AND I HATE IT! It looks weird, it feels weird, I don't like it. I miss my innie.

Oh boy

So this is a picture of me today.



A few days ago I got a pregnancy update email that said, "Your babies are heading into a growth spurt."

Heaven help me.

More to come

Okay, there's still more, but it's getting to be the time when I should start getting ready, so I'll have to post it later. Hopefully I'll be able to get everything done before I have a new onslaught of holiday posts.

Viewer Discretion is Advised

This is what happens when you've been morning sick/throwing up for so long that your minds starts to not function properly and someone gives you scotch tape.



Alright, alright, alright, I've done this before when I wasn't pregnant. But man, doing it with kids is so much more fun. In case you didn't get a good look...



Hannah didn't really get it...



Addison Totally did...



:o) Good times!

Bart Turns 30

Haha! 30! It's great to have a husband who is older than you. Especially when you're the one who makes the cakes. He's never going to get me a cake like this when I finally turn 30....like 6 or 7 years from now.



Yep, that's a lot of candles isn't it.



It's a good thing Addison was helping or I don't know if he could have blown all those candles out in one try. Man, he's old! Te he he, I love you babe.



Bart's family was actually able to come down to celebrate, so I arranged to have a surprise party for him. He knew his mom would be in town, so we told him she woudl watch the kids while we went on a date. When we came home, the house was decorated and all his siblings were there to surprise him for his big 3-0. He was totally shocked. It was AWESOME!!!

Maui

This year we also got to go to Maui with my family. Soooo much fun!


Mostly we just hung around the pool and beach. Hannah fell asleep in a beach chair and took a super long nap. It was AWESOME!



My parents, Stacy, and Eric got to go parasailing. They said this was a no no for pregnant ladies, so Lisa and I had to stay home, and our husbands graciously bowed out to be with us. Sweet boys.



We visited the legondary banyan tree.



And we went jet skiing....in retrospect, something that may not have been the best idea while pregnant. But it was still fun, despite someone, who shall remain nameless, running into us. ;o)



It was a great trip.

Aspen Grove

We got to go to Aspen Grove with my parents this year. It was AWESOME! Time for a plug. To all you parents out there. Aspen Grove is the BEST VACATION EVER!!! They have camp councilors for literally every age group (literally, 6 weeks old and up), and you send your kids off, meet them for meals (which someone else cooks), and then send them off again until the evening. You TRULY get a vacation. No cooking, tending kids, cleaning...okay, there isn't a maid service, you do need to keep your room a little tidy, but that's way easy since your kids are gone all day! When I told Bart about Aspen Grove, he was a skeptic. By the end of the week, he was calling his family telling them that we should save up and do it! It is seriously awesome. I absolutely loved it as a kid, and now I'm not sure what's better. Going there as a kid, or going there as a parent. If you're thinking that might be nice, JUST DO IT! IT'S WORTH IT!

To me, this is what Aspen Grove is all about....Aspen Follies!



It's basically a ton of different obstacle course type things that you get to do with your family/group. SOOOOOOO much fun. That lame explanation really doesn't do it justice. Hopefully the pictures will give you a little bit of a better idea of it's awesomeness.

One of the first things we did while we were there was paint ball! I have been wanting to go paintballing FOREVER, but whenever I got the opportunity, something always came up and I couldn't. But I finally got to go! It was way fun, even with the ghetto coarse.



As soon as I told Bart Aspen Grove had a pond that kids could go fishing in, the only thing he wanted to do was take Addison fishing. I didn't know how it would pan out. Fishing generally takes a lot of patience...something 3 year olds aren't really known for. But they checked out their pole and bate, and headed down to the pond.

I figured I had better take some pictures quickly, while Addison was still in a good mood. I sure am glad I did because I swear, within 2 minutes, they had caught a fish! I couldn't believe it! (Neither could the people on the other side of the pond who looked like they had been there a while). As you can see, Addison was a little nervous around the fish once it was out of the water. It was a great daddy-daughter bonding experience though. Addison even tried the fish when they cooked it for her the next day. She wasn't a big fan, but I was proud of her for trying.



On Wednesdays the counselors actually take the kids for the whole day (lunch and all) to give people the opportunity to hike Mt. Timpanogos. Unfortunately, when we went this year, the Timp trail hadn't opened yet. So Bart, My dad, My sister and I hiked to Stewart Falls instead. It was a beautiful hike, and I hear it's even prettier in the fall when all the colors are changing.




Addison was a Stomper this year. I nearly cried when she got up on the first night and joined with her little co-campers to sing, "Super stompers, super stompers, stomp stomp stomp!" Hey! I was pregnant and emotional and my kid was experiencing something I remember my little brother and sisters experiencing. I found it touching.

By far, her favorite thing to do was swim.



The best part for me this year was that I didn't have to deal with food. I was so morning sick, it was so nice to just walk into a dining hall, grab whatever I thought I could keep down, eat, and then leave. No gross fridge smells. No cleanup or dishes in the sink smelling. No cooking smells. Nothing. Just come, eat, leave. I was able to keep almost everything down that week. It was WONDERFUL!

The saddest part of the whole vacation was the last day. Addison had been telling me all week how she and her friends were being cows and singing for the final night of skits. She was sooooo excited. After we came home from dinner, Addison felt sick. Sure enough, within an hour she was throwing up, so we tucked our sick little girl into bed and opened our window to listen to the skits (our room was right by the amphitheater). Suddenly her group's part came on. She heard the music and weakly sat up and said, "Mom! They're doing the cow part! I feel better! I have to go be a cow!" She was so obviously sick and wanted so badly to go and be part of all the fun, it was HEARTBREAKING!!! We had to deal with some tears, and promised her that we'd come again next year so that she could be with her group to do the skit. Poor little thing.


But even despite some sickness (fortunately it passed quickly) it was an AWESOME vacation. And I SERIOUSLY can't wait to go again next year!

Hannah Turns 1

So Hannah Turned One! YAY! I'd say she's growing so fast, but this was pretty much 5 months ago, so she's even bigger now, so it feels weird saying that. Although she is growing so fast. There I said it. Did I mention it's early in the morning? What I say in the next few posts I feel I shouldn't be held accountable for. ;o)

Some Serious Catch-up

So I'm going to attempt to blog about this summer, hopefully all within the next hour (since I'm having trouble sleeping). Wish me luck...and for all of you with google reader. I'm sorry for the bombardment of posts.

27 weeks or 39 weeks, that is the question.

Well, here is a belly picture. I'm pretty sure it's the first one I've posted this year...since I haven't posted much since...well...I found out I was pregnant. ;o) I've grown a little since then. This is me at 27 weeks.And since Bart said that first one wasn't really a belly picture, here's Bart's version of a belly picture. :o) He's probably right. The subject of the first picture is me. The subject of this second one is definitely my belly.

I went to the doctor today. She says my uterus is measuring 39 weeks. That feels about right. In fact, let's compare: For a moment, let's please ignore the white pasty-ness of the previous picture. I need to talk to Bart about checking the settings on our camera before taking a picture. That or invest in a membership to a tanning salon.

There are several things I would like to say about these pictures (other than the fact that the belly size is remarkably similar). First of all, I love the slightly distressed smiles in the first two pictures. It's almost as if the subject is saying, "Yes, I am in labor, can we get this picture over with and get into the hospital so I can get this baby out of me?" Almost...

The last picture smile says, "I'm tired but people keep telling me I need to take belly pictures. Why bother? It's only going to get bigger. In the end, nobody will care what I looked like at 27 weeks. They're only going to want to see what I looked like at the end. It's like climbing half way up the mountain and taking pictures of the scenery. Okay, that's a pretty picture, but I wanted to see the view from the peak."

Finally, in case those pictures don't confirm the fact, being pregnant with twins is considerably different than being pregnant with only one baby. Sigh, at least I only have 11 weeks to go...at worst.

P.S. Since one of my friends reminded me that I haven't posted about the genders yet, we are having two more girls! Woo hoo! I don't have to go out and buy baby clothes...well...I'll have to buy some since apparently the shear quantity we'll be going through will boggle the mind, but at least we have a good start.

My Daughter is the BEST

So today Addison goes, "Mom, your tummy's little." At the time I was slouching on our couch for a much needed rest. I looked down at the full-term sized lump on my middle and laughed. I said, "Really Addison? My tummy's little?" To which she responded: "Well, it's big and little. Little on the sides and big in the front."

Oh child, you just made my day.

The Grotto

So I was trying to co-ordinate a hike with some friends this weekend and was super excited about it until I realized that Bart has class every Saturday morning.

Normally I'd just take Addison and Hannah by my self, but carrying Hannah in a backpack on a hike right now may not be the best idea...especially since the doctor doesn't want me carrying her much anyway...and I doubt Bart would have been too thrilled with an idea (he's becoming very protective of me with respect to picking things up). So I resigned myself to the fact that I probably wouldn't be going on any more hikes until after the twins are born. Sigh.

Then, come Saturday morning, Bart ended up NOT having class!!! I was so bummed! It was too late to catch up with our friends, but I was DETERMINED to go on a hike! So I forced a reluctant, thinking-about-the-loads-of-homework-and-yard-work-to-be-done Bart into the car with the kids and we headed off to The Grotto.

Now, can I just tell you, The Grotto has got to be the best hike EVER for kids. It's super short, super easy, and super beautiful! It literally only took us two hours from the time we drove out of our driveway to the time we drove back in. (Perfect for a guy who has a billion things to do). And...by the way...isn't he the most handsome man you've EVER seen! I know. I'm lucky.
Addison, Hannah, and I did the hike last year with the Young Women. The trickiest part for kids is the log bridges that cross the river. The first time I saw them, Addison was up front with one of the young women and I was a little way behind. I thought, "Oh no, is Addison going to be scared of these" (one is more than her height above the water), but she hopped on and walked right across without hesitation...AWESOME.

Fall has got to be the perfect time to take the hike too because the leaves are all changing and it is just gorgeous! Addison has always been a leaf collector, so she was in heaven.

Overall, Bart agreed, it was the perfect beginning to a perfect day. :o) The yard work got done, significant progress was made on the homework, and we had some fun family bonding time. Life is good!

Ever get tired of making a gazillion milk bottles?

This is my solution

I do realize that I haven't posted....like at all...this summer. And I would like to remedy that and catch everyone up on our summer. Hopefully that will happen sometime soon. But I'm pregnant with twins, so I make no promises.

In the mean time, here are some really cute pictures of my children from today:

Does anyone remember this post? How about this one? Well, I think my daughter is some sort of seer. Not only were we (soon after the conversations) surprised with a pregnancy, but when we went in for an ultrasound to figure out exactly when I was due (did I mention it was a BIG surprise) this is what we found:

REALLY FREAKING BIG SURPRISE. And THAT is the understatement of the year. I used to look at people who had their kids close together and think, "I could NEVER EVER EVER do that. They may be the type of person who can do it, but I couldn't." This is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO not a funny joke.

I just keep repeating 1 Corinthians 10:13 to myself. I will not be tempted above that I am able. Okay, that may sound weird. It's not like having two babies is a temptation, but man, having 3 kids ages 19 months and under, two of which are infants is seriously TERRIFYING to me. TERRIFYING! I keep telling myself that scripture also means I'm not going to be given challenges I can't rise to meet.

I wish I could say that it's bringing me a lot of comfort, but I have to admit, I'm still feeling pretty freaking overwhelmed. I guess that's why it takes 9 months for babies to be born. To give the moms time to adjust to the idea of having a new little one...or two little ones. Man, just talking about it is overwhelming me. Okay, I'm going to go to sleep now. If I thought I was tired and sick with one, two is worse!

PRAY FOR ME!

P.S. We won't know the genders for a few months still, but given our track history I would guess two girls. Addison, however, says we're going to have three sisters and a brother. So I'm not doubting the little foreseer again. If it is a boy and girl, though, that will be REALLY crazy. My parents had two girls, then twins that are a girl and boy, then another girl. Even if it is a boy and girl, we won't be copying my family. I am DONE after this. I am making myself feel a little less overwhelmed by telling myself over and over, "I will never be morning sick again."

Toyota

So the other day we were hearing some news story about Toyotas and the following conversation took place:

Addison: Mom, I want a Toyota.

Me: (Thinking, "Oh great, it's starting young.") We have a Toyota.

Addison: We do?

Me: Yeah, our white car is a Toyota.

Addison: ::::Confused Pause:::: Can I have it at my birthday party?

Me: (Thinking, "Great, I may have to throw her another birthday party this year...I'll have to figure out how to get around this, I can't give every kid a birthday party every year.") Um...Maybe.

Addison: Good and candy?

Me: Okay...

Addison: And we'll hit it and all the candy will fall down.

Me: ::::Confused Pause::::

Me: ::::Sudden Realization::::

Me: You mean a Pinata.

Addison: No, a Toyota.

Me: A Pinata is the thing you hit with a stick and then when it breaks open, Candy comes out of it. A Toyota is a car.

Addison: Oh....So Can I have a Toyota at my party?

Me: The thing that you hit with a stick and then candy comes down when it breaks open?

Addison: Yeah

Me: A Pinata

Addison: Okay, thanks mom.

I'm not sure what happened, But I'm glad the confusion is cleared up.

Who's the Fairest of Them All?

So over the past few days, TONS of people have commented to me about how fair Hannah is. I don't THINK she's any whiter than Addison was, but I don't remember people ever commenting on Addison's pale skin. The comments always include her fair skin and beautiful blue eyes. Her eyes are also the exact same color as Addison's. Maybe they're a little wider, but other than that, I don't think there is much of a difference.

Maybe it's because of the season. As the weather warms up people are wanting to bask in the sun's warmth, so maybe such a pale baby stands out among all the sun kissed people. We too enjoy basking in the sun's warmth, but it's never without our SPF 30+ baby sunscreen. I'll take pale skin over skin cancer any day. Especially with my kids. When they grow up if they choose to scorch themselves at least they won't be able to blame any skin cancer woes on me. I'm sure according to them I will be the source of many other wows, but with respect to the sun, I made sure they were protected when I was in charge.

Modesty

So a few months ago we had a family home evening on modesty. It didn't go so well. I was pretty sure everything just flew over her head and figured we'd try again in a year or two. Well apparently it did stick because lately Addison's been pointing out that she needs to wear sweaters with some of her clothes because they're not modest. Cool. She got it.

Well, today we were waiting for Hannah's 1 year dr appt. She had a runny nose so we were waiting in the Hall at the hospital so we didn't get the babies inside sick. A lady walked by with a spaghetti strap dress. Addison pointed and said right to her, "That's not modest." I just about died! Fortunately the lady just laughed. I apologized. This weeks FHE may be on keeping some thoughts to yourself.

Misc.

So Bart's been complaining that I'm not posting lately. (Who knew my biggest blogging fan was my husband...I didn't even know he read regularly.) Honestly. I've been trying to get our Garden in, deal with sick kids, clean the house for an appraisal (refinancing), get ready for family and friends coming to visit, babysitting friends kids, leaving town for a graduation, a cold, etc.

And now he's left me again for a weekend painting in the grand canyon! How on earth do I have time to post!?!?

But, to relieve some of the stress I'm feeling, I thought I would post a few things Addison says that make me laugh:

Addison: On the Board
Translation: All aboard

Addison: Holly e you a
Translation: hallelujah

So the "all aboard" one is from her watching Dinosaur Train. I must confess, I actually enjoy this show. It's about a Teranodon family who has adopted an orphaned T-rex, and their adventures learning about dinosaurs while riding the dinosaur train. It's a cute, clean, upbeat show.

But perhaps part of the reason I like it may be because I picture episodes far in the future. Episodes where Buddy accidentally eats Tiny, or marries Annie only to discover she's his biological sister. I'm slightly twisted, I know. But seriously. He's a T-rex. Some day in the future that family harmony is going to be shattered by primal instinct. AND Annie looks EXACTLY like buddy. I wonder if Mr. & Mrs. really found that egg abandoned somewhere, or if there were shadier antics involved. And why Mr. & Mrs. Tyrannosaurus haven't brought up the issue.

Sigh. Some people have soap operas. I have Dinosaur Train and my own imagination.

A Reminder for the Winter Months

I've been driving around our neighborhood for a few days now falling IN LOVE with the snow capped mountains and warm weather and I just HAD to take a picture of the scenes from around town. I have just felt so grateful lately for the beauty that is around me. I thought if I took some pictures of the scenes that make me feel so good, maybe if I look at them in the freezing winter months it'll remind me of why I am still living in Utah (and loving it...at least in the spring, summer, and fall). :)

And I thought Addison was a good eater...

Hannah will seriously eat anything we put in front of her. So far we've tried peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, avocado, lettuce, ground beef, chicken, zesty curry and lime chicken, potatoes, sweet potatoes, spaghetti, green beans, squash, cheerios...and seriously, the list could go on and on.

It's a challenge now. Everything we eat, we cut into tiny chunks and put on her high chair tray to see if there is anything she won't eat. So far we haven't found anything. We even had some spicy chips the other day that somehow she got a hold of, and the spice didn't seem to phase her! I can't believe it!

When Addison was her age, I had a hard time getting her to eat a lot of things...especially meat. Can this child be an easier baby?!?! I am seriously terrified of what the teenage years are going to bring. If they're good babies, that means I have to have a hard experience at some point doesn't it?

Tulip Festival

While Bart was gone I also met up with two of my best friends since High School and headed off to the Tulip Festival.

Warning: this is a post about the Tulip Festival, so you're not interested in seeing lots of pictures of flowers just stop reading now. ;o)

Feeding Koi Fish
Fish Kiss

The best part of the whole trip was that there was nobody waiting at home for us, so we could just stay as long as we wanted without worrying about being late. And we did. We got there around 10:30 and stayed until like 6:00 visiting! It was awesome! I love the Tulip Festival.